


Just One Kind Soul

by Claire3467



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brothers, Chuck as God, F/M, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, Resurrection, Sibling Rivalry, angels are idiots, lucifer is not that much of a dick, rape is in the past, sam and lucifer are friends, seriously if you don't like ocs don't read this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-24
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-01-26 09:12:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1682942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claire3467/pseuds/Claire3467
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Lucifer hadn't been alone that whole time in Hell? What if God took pity on him and gave him a friend? What if they became more than friends? What if he didn't want the apocalypse? What if all he wanted was a chance to ask for his family's forgiveness? This is that story. The story of how one lost, kind girl helped change the fate of the world. Just by understanding. </p><p>So, I suck at summaries (and titles), so sue me. Fair warning though in case you didn't read the tags: this work will be fairly OC filled. If you have an issue with that, turn back now.</p><p>Note: This is on indefinite hiatus. I have no idea when or if I'm going to finish this. I'm disillusioned with spn and frankly have no inspiration for this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

I close my eyes as the life flows out of me.

I see a pale, emaciated man. I'm crying, telling him it was an accident, begging him.

A young woman leads me away, her eyes kind.

I'm falling, falling, falling. I close my eyes.

When I open them, the only word I can think of to describe where I am is _pit_. Everything is white. Including the man I see standing before me. He is beautiful, and he has wings.

No, man is not the right word. They aren't really standing, either. They're furious. They turn their face (not exactly a face) upwards and shouts: "This is what I get for apologizing to you? One of _them_ in here with me?" I am still crying. Their voice makes my ears ring.

They turns to me, see my tears. Their face seems to soften, and suddenly the being before me shifts, condenses, transforms until a young man, maybe in his mid twenties, is staring at me in confusion. He has long brown hair; too long, my mother would say. His eyes are hazel; he is wearing a flannel shirt -plaid- and worn jeans tucked into hiking boots. Human now, not as beautiful. More typically attractive, and more John's type than mine. He stares at me, unblinking, as my tears finally start to slow.

"What's your name?" His voice doesn't hurt now. It's rougher, deep, _human_. This beautiful creature in front of me is not human, no matter what he -they- look like. That much I know for certain.

"Shannon. Where am I?"

"Hell. My cage." They still haven't blinked. It's unnerving.

Their words sink in. " _Your_ cage?" Now I am frightened. "Who are you?"

They continue to stare, seeming fascinated by my tears. "Lucifer."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the other chapters will be longer than this! Just to avoid confusion, she is not talking about John as in Winchester.  
> Constructive criticism is more than welcome, feel free to comment! This is my first work, so I have very little idea what I am doing. :)


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Character appearances and resurrections.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place before Sam and Dean part ways at the end of S5E2 Good God Y'all. The rest of the fic will more than likely take place during season five, although some events will be changed.

Sam followed Dean into the motel room, slamming the door behind them. _Freaking horsemen_. Really, what had the world come to? He knew the answer to that question, knew whose fault it was. Still. He's allowed to complain, wasn't he? Seeing War, seeing the damage that had already started, trying not to imagine what was soon to come had done a number on him. He wanted out. He was ready to tell Dean so, when a hesitant knock sounded through the room.

"Now what?" Dean grumbled, pulling his handgun out but leaving it by his side. Probably not the best idea to shoot an innocent motel owner who was just concerned about the fact that they looked like they had just been through a war zone. Sam opened the door, cautiously poking his head out. His jaw dropped.

" _Ruby_?!"

Dean's gun was no longer by his side. "What the hell? And more importantly, _how the hell_?"

Ruby ignored them both, shoving past Sam and into the room, dragging a woman who Sam hadn't even noticed behind her.

Both Sam and Dean pointed their guns at the demon who, by all rights, should have been dead. The other young woman ignored them both, staring around the room, seeming fascinated.

"I repeat," Dean said, "How. The. Hell. Are. You. Here?"

Ruby rolled her eyes at him. "Being instrumental in breaking an archangel out of Hell apparently earns you a favor. Lucifer brought me back. Don't know how, not gonna question it."

Sam allowed his gaze to shift to the other woman as Dean prepared another question. She looked to be about his age, maybe a year or two older. She had hair so black it had blue highlights, and skin that looked far too pale to go with it. She was slender, and a few inches shorter than Dean; she practically towered over Ruby. His gaze drifted to her arms, and he couldn't help himself from gasping as he saw the thick scars on her wrists. Her gaze snapped to him, and she yanked the sleeves of her shirt down. Her eyes were a very deep blue. She wasn't a great beauty, but she was pretty enough.

Not quite as pretty with her face scrunched up after Dean threw holy water in her face. She spluttered, and turned to glare at him. Sam noticed that Ruby had managed to step far enough away to avoid any holy water that may have splashed off the woman's face.

"Would it have really been _so_ difficult to hit my arm with that stuff instead?" Her tone was snappish.

Sam and Dean stared at her.

"You're not a demon?" Sam asked. He was now officially confused.

"Obviously not." She rolled her eyes at him and walked into the tiny bathroom to snag the towel from beside the sink.

"Then what the hell are you doing with a demon who just got brought back to life after staging a major jailbreak?" Dean demanded. Sam figured they were both about equally confused at this point.

"I'm her..." Ruby paused, looked at the taller woman. "Escort, I guess."

"Ah," Dean said. "Moved up from whore, bitch?"

"Dean!" Sam exclaimed.

"Sammy, do I really need to remind you that this _thing_ has basically spent the last two years manipulating you? And you've got a problem with me calling her names?"

Sam scowled at him, then turned to Ruby, who had been rejoined by the new woman.

"What's she need a demonic escort for?" Sam asked.

He heard a sigh, and turned his gaze to the newcomer.

"You know, I'm standing right here, and I can talk for myself," she said. She sounded more tired now than anything else. As he looked closer, he noticed the dark circles under her eyes, the fact that both her and Ruby's clothes looked like they had come through... well, hell, to get here.

"We've been trying to find you for days," Ruby supplied.

"I have something I need to talk to you about," the other woman chimed in.

"Yeah, well, sorry sweetheart," Dean said. "But we don't do business with anyone who's all buddy-buddy with backstabbing demon whores." He walked to the door, opened it, and waved his hand toward it. "Goodbye, not nice to meet you, hope to never see you again."

The tall woman smirked. "You sure about that, hot stuff?"

Dean put on his pretend-thoughtful face. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, pretty much." He waved toward the door again. " _Goodbye_."

"Really." Dean nodded again.

"Yeah, and if ya'll don't start walking, I'm gonna start shooting."

She smirked again, walking slowly to stand between the two brothers. "That's funny, 'cause I was under the impression that you two wanted to stop the apocalypse."

They stared at her. Dean lowered his gun, shut and locked the door.

"And you know about the apocalypse how?" Sam couldn't really blame Dean for being suspicious, but he could be a bit more polite. The poor woman looked like crap.

She sat on the bed. "Oh, I have a _very_ reliable source." Her smile was genuine now, thoughtful. "Anyway, he doesn't want the apocalypse any more than you two do. For many of the same reasons, actually."

Sam was starting to get a bad feeling about who she might have been talking about.

"We don't even know your name, and you're telling us you know enough about us to make an assumption like that?" Sam asked. He was more than a little concerned now. Especially about the fact that Ruby seemed entirely content to let this woman do the talking.

"I know we haven't met, but I do know a lot about you," she said, voice calm, placating. "I'm going to have to ask that you promise to hear me out before you make a snap decision." She waited for their nods before continuing. "And as for my name..." She looked up at them, met Sam's eyes before continuing. "I'm Shannon."

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you liked it!


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shannon tells a bit of her story, and the boys make a decision.

"Alright Shannon," Dean said, sitting on the bed opposite her. "Start talking."

She bit her lip, for the first time seeming unsure of herself. "You both know your roles in the apocalypse, right?"

"Yeah," Dean replied. "I'm the friggin' Michael sword or whatever, and Sam popped Lucifer out of Hell."

"You don't..." She stared at Sam. "You don't _know_? What you're supposed to do, who you're supposed to be?"

"I'm sorry, did you just say _who_?" Dean interrupted. "I'm not liking the sound of that."

Shannon ignored him. "Sam, you're-"

"Hello boys!" Sam spun around to find Zachariah sneering at them. "Miss me?"

Zachariah walked forward, then jerked back. His face became horrified. Sam followed his gaze in confusion to Shannon, who was now standing beside the bed. Her arms were folded, and if looks could kill, Zachariah would be a pile of ashes.

"Zachariah, right?" She took a step forward; Zachariah took one back. "I'll take that as a yes. You can sense him on me, can't you? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that that's what brought you here, and the Winchesters were just bonuses." She paused. "Stop me if I'm too far off." Both Zachariah and the two angels he had brought with him were apparently too terrified of her to answer. Out of the corner of his eye, Sam noticed Dean typing out a frantic text, presumably to Cas.

"Now, here's the deal. You are going to fly off. You are _not_ going to bother these two anymore. Or..." Shannon walked forward until she was nearly standing on Zachariah's toes. "I'm going to call up my cellmate and have _him_ deal with you. Got it?"

By the sudden lack of angels in the room, Sam guessed he got it. The absence only lasted a minute, as Cas suddenly appeared in the room, looking as worried as he ever did.

"Where's Zachariah? I thought-" He cut off as he saw Shannon, eyes widening. Suddenly he was holding his blade to her throat. She seemed remarkably calm about that fact.

Ruby was at her side faster than Sam could follow. "Back off, buddy," she snapped.

"Cas, calm down," Dean said.

Cas slowly backed away, keeping his eyes locked onto Shannon. "She's a spy," he declared.

"A spy?" Sam asked. "For who?" He was beginning to wonder if he could get any more confused.

"Lucifer."

***

An hour later, and Shannon stared at them calmly. Ruby had remained by her side, evidently not trusting Castiel to keep his distance.

"I can't make you believe what I just told you," Shannon said. "But I am begging you, give it some thought."

Sam and Dean shared a look.

Dean turned to the two women. "Out. We need to talk."

Ruby opened her mouth to object, but Shannon gently elbowed her, and both of them left the room.

"It's impossible," Cas stated flatly. "Lucifer _despises_ humans. He would not work with one, much less..." He seemed unable to get the words out.

"I'm with Cas on this one," Dean said. "Chick's way too sane for having been down there ten years. Even if she didn't get demonized, she should be nuts."

Sam... wasn't sure what to think. Her story seemed impossible, but she had seemed sure of it. He didn't think she was lying. Of course, that did leave the possibility that she was brainwashed or just plain crazy. He thought back to her story...

***

_"Ten years ago, I died. I remember falling for what felt like days before I landed in a white pit. Lucifer was there, wings and all." She smiled fondly._

_"He was furious at first. Hated humans and all, didn't want to be stuck with one for the rest of eternity. But I was crying.... He seemed confused, then fascinated. Angels don't really do emotions, except for fallen ones. Even for Lucifer, the only emotions he knew were anger, hate, and betrayal. After he told me his name, and after I stopped being terrified, we talked._

_"Dean, you know how differently time flows in Hell. I was there for ten years_ above ground time _. Over a millennium in Hell. We talked for the whole time. He was lonely. He had been used to having thousands of siblings connected to him all the time. Having that ripped away.... He was devastated. Being stuck in a cage with no one to talk to for millennia..." She shook her head._

_"He was willing to talk to anyone. Even a lowly human. So we did. About our families first. We actually had a decent amount in common in that respect. Then we moved onto what I had wanted to do before I died. Travel. See the world. He didn't like that so much. Hated what humans had done to his father's creation. So I tried to convince him humans weren't all terrible. I started telling him all of the amazing things humans had created. Music, art, stories." She grinned. "I sang some of my favorite songs to him. He liked the Beatles, surprisingly. I told him about my favorite books, we talked about how reading took you places. Turns out he's a bit of a bookworm. Go figure, huh?_

_"Then... he told me_ why _he hated humans. As much as I didn't want to, I understood where he was coming from. It's not exactly a secret that we've seriously messed up the planet. And we do have that nasty habit of murdering each other for no reason._

_"But then I told him about Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela. Every human I could think of that tried their hardest to make the world better. Eventually -well, I won't say he came around, but I think I may have helped some- he told me something he had rarely admitted to even himself: he didn't want the apocalypse. He didn't think -he knew that he wouldn't be able to kill Michael."_

_She looked at them desperately. "Michael's his big brother. You can't even begin to understand how close they were. Michael practically raised him, and Lucifer still loves him and the rest of his family. Even his dad, although I'm not sure he'd admit that to anyone other than me. All he wanted was to get out of that cage. Now... he just wants to talk to his family." She took a deep breath. "To apologize. That's all he wants. You two_ have _to be able to understand that."_

***

"I vote we kick her out." Dean's voice carried a note of finality.

"I agree." From Cas, naturally.

Sam wasn't as sure. She had seemed so certain, so convinced. But Lucifer in love with a human? No. "Okay. Anybody volunteer for telling her?"

He and Dean looked at each other. They both shook their fists three times. Rock. Scissors.

"Every freaking time," Dean grumbled, walking resignedly to the door. He yanked it open. "Get lost."

Shannon scrambled to her feet. Ruby rose a little more gracefully. " _What?_ "

"Go. Now. You've got thirty seconds to get out of this parking lot or I shoot you."

Shannon looked bewildered. "You don't understand, Sam's in danger-"

"Yeah, from you and your devil buddy. Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight."

Ruby grabbed Shannon's arm. "Come on, it's not worth it."

"No, we-"

Ruby started dragging her. "It's my job to keep you alive. That means we leave. _Now_." She shot one disappointed glance at Sam before Shannon finally turned around. Sam watched the two women leave as Dean slid his gun back in his pants.

"Good riddance!" Dean hollered after them.

Sam really hoped they hadn't just made a huge mistake.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned how much I hate Zachariah? Cause I really, really do. Also, there is still plenty Shannon has not told them. And in case it wasn't clear, Lucifer basically brought back Ruby so that he could have some one he trusted watch Shannon while he does his thing.


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer visits both Shannon and Sam in their dreams.

The second time I stumbled, Ruby stopped me.

"We're done. Let's find a motel."

"I'm fi-"

"I swear, if you say you're fine, I'm knocking you unconscious and dragging you to a motel. You've been going nonstop for days, Shannon. You're only human." 

 _Thanks for reminding me._ I was too exhausted to glare at her. "Whatever."

We found a motel, and I collapsed onto the bed. I fell asleep thinking of stupid bus lines that couldn't be bothered to go where we needed them and rude truckers who had whistled at us and offered a "ride". Why weren't there any nice people willing to pick up hitchhikers?

***

It took me a moment to realize I was in a dream. To remember that this had already happened, that he was dead, that he couldn't do anything to me anymore. That I wasn't a helpless little girl anymore.

"Hey."

I turned around. A tall, blond man with light blue eyes was smiling faintly at me. Funny, but I didn't remember him being at my party- _Oh._

"Luce?"

His smile broadened slightly, and he opened his arms for me. I tried not to look too pathetic running into them, even though I knew he wouldn't care. I had _some_ pride. But after spending every hour of twelve hundred years together, a week apart had nearly been unbearable.

As we held each other, the scene around me shifted. The next thing I knew, we were sitting on my old bed on my fluffy old comforter with my ridiculous number of pillows. It felt nice.

"You found a vessel." My voice was slightly muffled by his shoulder.

"Mhm. I'm not certain how long he'll last, but with any luck I won't need him to for very long."

I pulled back a little, studying his face. "You really think Michael will fix something up for you?"

His lips twitched. "I have to hope. Him or our Father."

I privately thought that last one was a little more likely. Obviously God had already forgiven Lucifer a little, or at least felt sorry for him.

He shifted slightly, and suddenly we were laying face to face, stretched out on the bed. I fought back bad memories and gave him a look. " _My_ dream, mister. Knock that off."

He grinned and leaned forward to kiss me. For a few seconds, I felt like a teenager with her first boyfriend.

He broke away but left his face near mine, one hand running lightly through my hair. "Did you find the Winchesters?"

I groaned and rolled onto my back. He propped himself up on one elbow to frown at me. "Shannon?"

I glanced at him. "Technically speaking, yeah. They sort of got ticked and kicked us out. I explained, though. Surprisingly, they were unconvinced."

Lucifer had talked to me for more than long enough to recognize sarcasm. "That's not your fault. I'll talk to Sam myself. He seems the more reasonable of the two."

I had to agree with that. "I find it interesting that Dean is so passionate," he continued. "Especially considering Michael is far from that.... I hope both of them can see reason." He got that look on his face that always meant he was about to get really depressed.

My heart hurt for him. Even after all this time, I could only begin to imagine what it was like for him. I decided distraction would be an excellent option. Teasing always worked well with Luce.

"You know, I'm not sure how much like Sam you are."

"Hm?"

"Well, for one thing he seems slightly less extreme than you."

He narrowed his eyes.

"Granted, there is the whole disobedience thing. But there's kinda a minor difference between wanting to be a lawyer and wanting to destroy humanity."

He leaned forward, all thoughts of depressing family issues now gone, if the way he was looking at me was any indication. I fought back the pounding  in my chest. _It's Lucifer, he won't do that to you._

"And you are certainly far cuter than him."

In an instant, he was over me, face millimeters from mine. "Tease," he murmured. My response was cut off as he closed the distance between our lips. My heart started beating even faster, but I tried to ignore it, forget how faint I felt, think only of Lucifer's closeness. One of his hands cupped my face gently, the other moved from the bed to rest lightly on my hip. I think that might have been what did it. The position, the room, the memories all became too much, and I jerked away from him. I sat up and hugged my knees to my chest, fighting back the need to just break down and sob.

Lucifer looked like a kicked puppy. "I'm sorry," he said, reaching out a hand to try to comfort me. I shook my head. Not what I needed right now. He kept his distance and waited, though I noticed it seemed to be killing him to do so. 

"I'm sorry," he said again once I got myself under control.

I shook my head. "Not your fault I'm such a mess."

He grabbed my face in his hands and made me meet his eyes. "You are not a mess. You're perfect."

I couldn't help chuckling. "Given your remarkably limited experience with humans, I'm not sure you're qualified to claim that."

He kissed my forehead and held me. "You are though."

He stayed until it was time for me to wake up.

***

Sam collapsed onto his crappy motel bed. The encounter with Reggie and Tim had left him thoroughly worn out. And more than a little guilty. This whole freaking thing was _his_ fault. Everyone who had already died and would die in this whole apocalyptic mess would be on his conscience. He needed a drink. Or five. Yeah, that would help.

***

"Hello Sam."

He sat up slowly and turned to the other side of the bed. A blonde man sat there, regarding him calmly with pale blue eyes.

"I would have rather had this conversation in person," the man continued. "But you are a hard one to find, Sam."

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" Something felt off to Sam.

"Sorry, I assumed you had realized that. This is a dream, Sam. I just wanted to thank you."

A chill ran down his spine and he nearly leaped off the bed. "Lucifer."

"I don't suppose you'd tell me where you are? I'd like to send you a fruit basket. Shannon and I really do appreciate the jail break."

"Get out."

Lucifer sighed. "Sam, Shannon told me you didn't believe her. I'm sure you think I just came here to get you to say yes."

That made Sam pause. "You need my consent?"

Lucifer crossed his arms and looked affronted. "Of course, I'm an angel. I don't want your consent though."

Sam was really tired of feeling confused all the time. "You don't. Right."

"See, the apocalypse can't happen with me being in Nick here. Ergo, you don't say yes, no apocalypse. Officially anyway." His expression turned contemplative. "I wouldn't put it past Michael to go ahead and try to destroy the planet to force you and Dean into saying yes."

"You're lying. Get out of my head."

Lucifer stood up and walked to face Sam. "I will never lie to you or trick you." Something in his eyes softened just a bit. "I truly am sorry for this burden that is placed on you, Sam. Truly, I am."

Sam hesitated, then- "Tell me one thing."

Lucifer tilted his head to one side a little.

"Why don't you want the apocalypse?"

Lucifer's voice was very soft. "If your father had told you and Dean to fight to the death, wouldn't you do anything and everything you could to prevent it? Aren't you already?"

Then he was gone.

***

When Sam woke up, he dialed Dean's number. They needed to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say (in regards to my including the "Of course, I'm an angel bit") that my headcanon for Lucifer is that he is really annoyed about how in most depictions of Satan or the Devil, he isn't drawn as an angel but rather as a demon/half-goat-thing. He is an angel, and he would like everyone to please remember that. Because he has smiting abilities. (Shannon won't let him use them, but he will threaten you with them.)


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shannon tries to help the boys work through issues and Dean is unintentionally triggery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place at the end of "Fallen Idols" when the boys are about to leave town, around the last three or four minutes of that episode.

Dean stopped so abruptly that Sam nearly ran into him.

"Dude! What-" Then he saw who was standing near the Impala.  "Seriously!?"

Shannon smiled somewhat apologetically. "Luce said you sort of refused to listen to him, too. He wanted me to check in on you two. For whatever reason, he thinks you might not want to see him." Ruby appeared to be trying to melt into the ground next to her. Or at least, be as irrelevant to the situation as she possibly could.

"Are you following us?" Dean demanded.

"Don't flatter yourselves," Shannon said with a roll of her eyes. "It isn't that hard to take a look on the internet and take a guess at what this week's venue will be for a Winchester-monster death match. Speaking of, did you get it?"

Both brothers chose not to dignify that with a response. They always got it.

Dean stormed past her and shoved his bag into his baby's trunk. He turned and quirked an eyebrow at them. "You're still here?" His hand moved towards his gun. Shannon saw.

"Don't! Please, I just want to talk to you."

"Too bad, princess," Dean said, drawing and pointing his gun. "Neither of us wants to talk to you. Sammy, give Cas a call."

"You two are insufferable," Shannon snapped. She glanced from brother to brother. "And... tense. What's with you two?"

"Nothing!" They snarled in unison.

She put her hands on her hips. "I've got four brothers, morons. I know tension between siblings when I see it. What's eating you?"

Dean barked a laugh. "Right, let's all settle down for group therapy with Satan's little pet whore, huh?"

Shannon took a step back and swallowed hard, seeming to steel herself. "It's the seals, right? You're both feeling guilty?"

They shared a look. "It wasn't just your fault, Dean."

"Wasn't yours either. Neither of us knew what we were doing."

"There, see?" Shannon said, looking slightly pleased, though still a little upset. "Feel better now? Maybe you two should hug."

Sam was pretty sure she was teasing. He really didn't know what to make of her.

Dean refocused his attention to the two women by the car. "Maybe you should leave before I give you an extra hole in your head, bitch."

Shannon just looked distressed now. "We really don't think it's safe for you two to be running around without some protection. The other angels will find you eventually. Here, at least take my cell number, I have it written down here somewhere." She started rummaging through her jacket.

Dean took a step forward. "Leave. Now. Do not pass Go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. Go right back to your sugar daddy, or however you wanna refer to that fucked-up creepy uncle-ish, Stockholm syndrome-y relationship you two have going on that makes you think screwing the Devil is okay!" He was shouting by the end.

Shannon seemed to choke, the piece of paper she had fished out of her jacket fluttering to the ground. Ruby rushed over and murmured something to her. Shannon nodded jerkily, her breathing uneven. Ruby stalked over to Dean and, before his brain had time to register the situation, smacked him so hard Sam heard his neck crack. Dean stared at her, stunned.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ruby yelled at him.

"Ruby." She turned back to her charge, who looked considerably more in control now. "I can handle this." She turned to Dean.

"Let me clear something up for you." She took a step with each word until she was standing mere inches away from Dean. "Lucifer and I spent twelve hundred years together. I was the first being to show him a hint of kindness in millennia. He understands me like few people in my life ever have. You cannot possibly begin to comprehend what we mean to each other. Our relationship may not have gotten off on the best footing, but we love each other. And we are not sleeping together." She sneered at him. "I realize that may be the only way _you_ know how to show affection for someone outside of your family, Dean, but not all of us are emotionally stunted pigs. Don't assume you know me just because I told you a bit about a _fraction_ of my history." She shot him one last, disgusted look and strode away.

Ruby gave Sam a disappointed frown and rushed to catch up to Shannon. Sam was still in shock.

"Dude," he said several minutes later. "I think you seriously set her off."  

Dean seemed to be in shock as much as Sam. (Though, that could have been partially due to brain damage. Pissed-off demon chicks can apparently smack hard enough to make even a well-seasoned hunter see stars and little birdies.) "I... I just wanted to piss her off enough to make her leave."

"Well, congratulations. It worked. I think you almost made her cry, but she left." Sam walked over and picked up the small slip of paper with a phone number written on it. He frowned at it for a moment, then slipped it into the pocket of his jeans. Not that he would ever use it.

"Come on man. Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to make it clear, I like Dean. Really, I do. But I feel like he can sort of put his foot in his mouth from time to time. He wasn't trying to actually hurt Shannon, just make her mad.  
> Sorry this one was so short, but the next one should be a lot longer (might split it into a two parter, I'll just have to see) and will be this verse's version of "Abandon All Hope"! Thanks for reading, I hoped you enjoyed it!


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While our team of hunters tries to kill the Devil, Lucifer is amassing supporters for his own cause...  
> WARNING: This is the chapter that contains mentions of underage rape and incest. I kept it as vague as I possibly could, but if it could possibly be a trigger for you DON'T READ! If this is a problem for anyone, inbox me or comment and I'll cut Shannon's story out of this chapter and put it in a separate work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this has taken so long! Life was nuts for the last bit of summer, and school has been sucking my inspiration away. I'll try to do better, but I feel like I shouldn't make promises that I might not be able to keep. This chapter's longer than the one's before though, so I hope that helps make up for it! Enjoy!

"I want you to take this thing to Lucifer and empty it into his face."

Both brothers were understandably skeptical.

"And you want us to do this _why_?" Dean asked.

Crowley sighed at the indignity of having to explain himself. "I keep forgetting, you two are, at best, functioning morons."

"You're functioning morons... mor..." Dean looked away.

Crowley rolled his eyes and continued. "There are two main possibilities regarding Lucifer's actions as of late. One is that he's gone bloody _soft_. That girl of his has made him feel all lovey-dovey towards humans and now he wants to just hug it out. Good for me really; his crown is ripe for the taking."

Now _that_ made Sam raise his eyebrows. "You wanna be king of Hell or something?"

Crowley stared at him. "Not 'or something', idiot. It's going to be mine for the taking once he's out of the picture."

Dean frowned. "What's option two?"

"He's faking," Crowley said, leaning against his desk. "Tell you the truth, that's what I'd put my money on. He still sees you as filthy bags of pus, and still wants to take you out. Permanently. We're next."

Sam frowned. "But he created you."

Crowley shrugged. "We're just servants to him. He doesn't care about us." He straightened and clapped his hands together. "So, do we have a deal, boys? I give you the gun, you kill the Devil?"

"You wouldn't happen to know where the Devil _is_ , would you?" Sam asked, picking up the gun as nonchalantly as he could.

"Birdies tell me he has an appointment Thursday, in Carthage, Missouri."

Sam nodded. "Thanks." He put the gun to Crowley's forehead, pulled the trigger- _click_.

Crowley didn't appear to be fazed in the slightest. "Oh, yeah, you'll probably need some more ammunition." He went around the desk to get some.

"And what happens to you if we go up against the Devil and lose?" Dean asked, ever skeptical of help from demons.

"Number one, he's going to wipe us all out anyway. Two, after you leave here, I go on an extended vacation to all points nowhere. And three, how about you don't miss, okay! Morons!" Crowley shouted the last bit as he hurled a box of ammo at Dean. Then he was gone.

An unasked question rang in Sam's mind. _What if you're wrong?_

***

I yawned and rolled my shoulders as I settled down onto the bed. Having an archangel for a boyfriend really came in handy when we were, for example, stuck in a temporarily deserted town and needed a bed for the night. I was pretty sure archangel powers were supposed to be used for governing the universe and not poofing up a ridiculously soft queen sized bed, but I wasn't going to complain. I needed a decent night's sleep for once. Especially with the day ahead of us.

I grinned as two chilly arms wrapped around my middle from behind. _Think of the devil..._

Lucifer nuzzled his face into my neck. I squeaked. "Cold!"

"Mmf."

"That better have been a sorry." I gently pulled out of his arms and turned around to face him. He looked depressed. And... worn. I gently stroked his face. "Michael still not answering?" He shook his head. "Did you try Raphael?" Nod. "Maybe... maybe it's not getting through. If they're still in heaven-"

"Raphael took a vessel."

"Oh." There wasn't much more to say about your brother deliberately ignoring you. I snuggled against him again. And failed to stifle a yawn.

I could hear the smile in his voice. "You need some sleep, Shan." He tugged back the covers and deposited me underneath. Stupid archangel strength. I was too sleepy to glare at him for treating me like a little kid though.

"Sleep, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere." He kissed my forehead.

I didn't have any nightmares. I didn't wake up screaming. Nice change of pace.

***

No cell signal. No people. And thus far, no Devil. This was seeming like a more terrible idea every second. Sam was really starting to think the 'trap' label may not be too far off. Dean's distrust of demons was seeming more and more reasonable. Why couldn't anything just go right for them? Just once?

"Where's Cas?" he asked as Ellen and Jo pulled up.

"He went to try and see if he could figure out where the hell everyone is," Jo answered.

"Great," Dean muttered as they got out of the car. "Five minutes and we've already lost the angel up our sleeve."

Sam really, _really_ hoped this wasn't a trap.

***

"Hello, brother."

Castiel turned as the holy fire flared to life around him.

Lucifer smiled gently. "Castiel, right?"

Cas nodded slowly.

His smile widened. "It's so good to see one of my brothers again. Tell me, what was riding in an automobile like?"

"Slow. Confining." He examined Lucifer closer. The archangel's face was littered with spots where the skin appeared to have melted away. "What's wrong with your vessel?"

Lucifer glanced down. "Well, unfortunately Nick here is a bit of an improvisation. He won't be able to hold me forever-"

Cas stepped forward, then glared down at the holy fire. "You are not taking Sam Winchester."

Lucifer gave him that same gentle smile that he faintly remembered from the time when he was a fledgling. A warm, kind, brotherly smile. Genuine. He felt... conflicted.

"Now," Lucifer said, rubbing his palms together. "I have someone else to talk to right now, but I'll be back soon and we can finish this conversation. Oh, and Cas?"

Castiel met his eyes.

"I have no intention of taking Sam. The poor boy's been through enough. And you should know, I never lie." Then he was gone, leaving Cas standing in the ring of fire with only a few demons to guard him.

***

"Hey boys!"

"Meg!" Dean shouted, spinning around.

Meg rolled her eyes. "Come on boys, put the guns down. My father wants to have a word with you."

"She means it." I stepped from around the corner of the building and walked calmly to stand by Meg, Ruby following close behind. "Nobody's going to hurt you, Lucifer just wants to talk."

"And what if we say no?" Sam called. There were still a lot of guns pointed at us. Not good.

"That would be rude," I responded. "Saying no to a friendly conversation with someone who shares your goals is rather... impolite. Not to mention pig-headed and unnecessary."

Dean took a step forward and raised a really old-looking gun. "Move it or lose it."

"Crap," Ruby muttered. She took a step in front of me.

" _Please_ tell me that's not what I think it is," I muttered back.

"I told you that we were gonna need hellhounds!" Meg hissed at me. (We had had that argument for about two hours last night. I didn't feel it was necessary to try and bring back a traumatic situation for Dean. I knew what that was like.)

"Shut up," I hissed back. Wow. This was going even worse than we had thought it would. Impressive.

***

"Hello Mr. Singer."

Spinning quickly in the damn chair was no easy feat, but Bobby managed. "Who the hell are you?"

The man smiled. "You know me as the Morningstar, Satan, and the Devil. I really do prefer Lucifer though. If you don't mind."

Bobby's mind raced. He didn't have any holy oil on hand, not that he'd be able to get to it fast enough anyway. He was completely at the mercy of the Devil. Oh, he was so screwed. _Freakin' idjit angels._

Lucifer held up both his hands in a placating gesture. "Please, just hear me out." He paused. "I feel that you may be the only one of the Winchester's little team that will."

"And what makes you think that?" Bobby spat. "I ain't on board with your plan."

"Yes you are! _All of you are!_ " The windows rattled slightly as the archangel shouted. Bobby clapped his hands over his ears and winced.

Lucifer closed his eyes and visibly struggled for control. "I am sorry." He ran a hand through his hair. "It's just... It's been a long few months. I'm at my wits end trying to get _someone_ to listen to me. I've got your boys out for my blood, a handful of demons out for my crown (though those are really more of an annoyance than anything), angels after me and poor Sam _and_ Shannon, and all I want to do is talk to the brother that I haven't seen in millenia!" He collapsed into the nearest chair, breathing heavier than Bobby had ever seen from an angel before.

Maybe... no. Bobby was not trusting the literally goddamned Devil! Still, though. He looked pathetic. And it wasn't like Bobby could actually make him leave.

Bobby sighed, resigned to the fact that he was about to have a conversation with the dick of an archangel that was trying to destroy the world. Probably. He really did look more pathetic than a nearly-all-powerful being had any right to.

"That all?"

Lucifer glanced up at him. "I wouldn't mind asking my father why he did this." He snorted. "Can you imagine ordering Sam and Dean to kill each other?"

Bobby knew his answer immediately, and he was sure it showed on his face. Still, the question made him pause. He had never considered it from that angle before. Had never considered the burden it put on all the angels, not just Michael and Lucifer. To know that your own father could do something like that....

Bobby didn't want to trust him. He really didn't. "How did you find my house?"

Lucifer grinned at that. "Shannon is familiar with how to use a phone book. And the internet. It wasn't that hard. I'm not surprised none of my brothers have managed it, however. Angels aren't exactly known for being 'techno-savvy'." He put air quotes around the last word.

Bobby couldn't help it. Everything had just been too damn tense for the longest time, and it turned out the smallest thing would set him off. This time it just happened to be that Satan had just used the word techno-savvy complete with air quotes. After a beat, Lucifer joined in his laughter.

It took a while, but eventually the old hunter calmed down. "Why are you really here? You obviously could have figured out how to call me, so why come in person?"

Lucifer sobered and eyed him very seriously. "I have a proposition for you."

"I'm listenin'."

***

"Guys, I realize this is hard for you to understand," I started, wary of the truly terrifying number of guns that were pointed at me. "But we really aren't here to hurt you. What on earth am I supposed to say to make you believe that?"

"For starters, where is everyone?" The younger woman asked. Jo, maybe? I couldn't remember for sure.

"Asleep." And that received nothing but looks ranging from overwhelming skepticism to outright anger. Awesome. Gotta love paranoia.

"I mean it." I waved a hand around a the various buildings. "Lucifer made them all sleep and did some sort of weird angel-thing so that nobody could see them. We had to get you guys further into town _somehow_ ," I finished apologetically.

"Prove it," the older woman snapped. "You've thrown in with the Devil, how do we know you're not lying?"

I rolled my eyes. "Do I look like an archangel to you? I can't undo it. If you want proof, you'll just have to be patient and wait until Luce gets back." I noticed that Sam's brow furrowed at the nickname. And, of course, that Ruby had been staring at him this whole time.

Ruby winced next to me. _Oops_.

"Back?" Sam questioned. He shot a look at Dean. _Crap crap crap._

"Where's Cas?" Dean demanded, taking a few steps forward and not lowering the gun even a little. Oh, I was so not cut out for this.

"Lucifer just wanted to talk to him," I cautioned, holding my hands out placatingly, for all the good that it was going to do. "I promise he's fine, Dean. Lucifer wouldn't hurt his baby brother any more than you'd hurt yours."

Dean stopped short. His face suddenly twisted with fury. "If you think I am anything like that son of a bitch-" He started striding forward again midsentence. Ruby grabbed my arm before he got within ten feet, and suddenly we were in the same, temporarily abandoned building we had spent the night in. Of course, there hadn't been an angel in a circle of holy fire before.

I turned and gave Ruby a look. She held up her hands in surrender. "Hey, I am under specific orders to not let you get killed."

I gave Meg the look. She shrugged. "I got told to draw the Winchesters out and give you a chance to reason with them- which is impossible, by the way. I did that. Don't get huffy with me."

I sighed. They were both right, but that didn't make it any less annoying. Oh, well. No need to be rude to our guest. I grinned and walked into Castiel's line of sight. "Hi Cas!"

He stared at me. Yeah, that wasn't disconcerting _at all_. Even more so than when Luce did it.

I kept smiling. "We didn't really get a chance to talk last time we met. It's nice to see you again. How're things with you and Dean?" Because, really, you'd have to be blind not to notice the chemistry between the two of them.

He stared at me. "Fine. We're fine."

"Uh- _huh_." Well, that conversation lasted a whole five seconds. And he was still staring at me. Great. I started to turn away to figure out a new plan with Meg and Ruby.

"Why are you helping him?" I glanced back to the source of the gravely question. He actually looked curious.

I glanced around at the assembled demons. "You guys mind giving us some privacy for a little while?" When Ruby opened her mouth to protest, I rolled my eyes at her. "Seriously? He's stuck in a circle of holy fire. How is he going to do anything to me?" She still frowned. "I promise I'll stay five feet away at all times?"

Ruby glared. "I refuse to be blamed if something happens." Then she and Meg stomped off.

The other demons were still hesitant. I sighed. "Guys, I promise I'll tell Lucifer that you were acting under _my_ orders when you left Cas unguarded for a few minutes. You won't get in trouble." A couple of them smiled at me as the group finally left the room. I shut the door behind them.

As promised, I settled down five feet away from Cas' circle, legs crossed like in kindergarten. To my surprise, Cas followed suit.

"Thought I had made that pretty clear."

"You did," he responded. "That's not what I was referring to, however. You never told us how such a nice girl as yourself ended up in Hell. Or the Cage."

I met his gaze for a long minute. "Promise me that you won't tell anybody else this. It's not something I want spread around."

"You have my word."

I took a deep breath to hopefully ward off the swarm of emotions that was soon to come. "Okay then."

***

Ruby, Meg and Shannon disappeared in the blink of an eye as Dean advanced on them.

"Son of a bitch!" He turned back towards the other hunters. "Now what the hell do we do?"

The news that Lucifer wasn't actually here had solidified Sam's feelings of this being a trap. And they had walked right into it like idiots.

"Maybe we should try to get in contact with Bobby?" Sam suggested. The old hunter had always come through for them in the past. No reason to break that streak now.

"Uh, Sam, don't know if you had noticed," Jo broke in. "But our cells are kinda down right now."

Sam's brow furrowed. "Hey, does Bobby still have that old CB?"

Five stores later, they finally found a radio mixed in with the junk in a hardware store. As Dean tuned it, the others had an impromptu war conference.

"I say we get out while we still can," Ellen said firmly. Jo nodded in agreement.

"We are not leaving without Cas!" Dean snapped, pausing to glare over at them.

"Any idea how to find him, then?" Jo asked snarkily. "Or should we just wander around making big targets of ourselves until we get killed?"

Dean ignored her, turning back to the radio. "KC5 Fox Delta Oscar, come in, over."

There was a long pause before Bobby's voice crackled through. "This is KC5 Fox Delta Oscar, go ahead."

"Bobby we've got a bit of a situation here."

Everyone sagged in relief as Bobby responded. "It's okay boy, that's why I'm here."

***

Cas still hadn't looked away from me as I began my story.

"A little after I turned twelve, my mom took my twin for his yearly checkup. My dad was working, but she didn't feel comfortable leaving me home alone. So, she asked her big brother to come watch me for a few hours.

"Uncle Jackson liked to drink. I was too young to know if he was drunk that day or not, but I don't think so. He was a big guy, too. Muscular, five-eleven. Not the nicest looking man. He'd never been mean to or hurt anyone before, obviously, or mom wouldn't have left him with me.

"It happened pretty soon after they left. I was in the kitchen and h-he," I sniffled and swiped at my eyes.

"I understand," Castiel said, his voice surprisingly gentle. "You don't have to explain."

I smiled gratefully at him. "I went to a Catholic school, so no sex ed. I didn't really understand what had happened to me, or that it wasn't my fault. I just knew that it hurt, and it felt wrong, and that Uncle Jackson said that if I told anyone that my family would make me leave because I was 'dirty'. Naive little kid that I was, I believed him. I never told anybody.

"It didn't stop. I kept my mouth shut for more than six years, even after I realized what he had done to me. I was too scared of him by then. Until a couple days after graduation, when I realized I hadn't had my period in a couple of months.

"I went to the CVS and bought a few of those home pregnancy test kits. They came out positive. All of them." I took a shaky breath.

"I panicked. I wasn't thinking straight. I ran out into the woods behind our house and just kept running. I don't know how long. I... I had been cutting for a while already. I had the pocket knife my big brother had given me in my pocket and... I wasn't thinking right. I just grabbed it, and, well...." I held up my wrists so he could see the scars. "Not my best moment.

"By the time I realized what I had done, that I had gone too far, I knew I wasn't going to make it back to the house. It may sound stupid, but the one thing running through my head was that scene from _Dead Poet's Society_ where the kid's mom finds his body. And I just couldn't do that to my mom." I took another deep breath. "It's a sin, you know.

"So I managed to crawl into this big hollow in a tree nearby. I just curled up in a ball and prayed. Said I was so sorry. And to please not let my mom know. Let her think I went to heaven instead. Next thing I know, Death and a reaper were there to take me away. Then I was with Lucifer.

"That answer your question?"

***

Lucifer was staring curiously at the radio, head tilted slightly. Bobby ignored him.

"So what's goin' on over there? Nobody's hurt, right?"

Dean responded immediately. "No, we're all okay. But Cas got grabbed and, as it turns out, the Devil ain't here after all."

Sam's voice filtered through. "We walked right into a trap, Bobby. We're kinda stuck, and we can't leave without Cas."

Bobby continued ignoring the archangel as he sighed behind him. "Dean, I know this is hard for you, but Cas is a big boy. He'd want ya'll to get out of there while you have a chance." He paused. "You _are_ clear to get out of there, right?"

 

"Yeah, um... hold on a second, Bobby."

The old hunter turned to glare at Lucifer. "I swear, if you hurt Cas-" Angel might be a bit clueless, but he had a good heart. And he didn't particularly want to deal with another Winchester who had lost his love. He was gettin' too old for that nonsense.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to hurt him. He's my _baby brother_. I just need to talk with him for a little bit. I knew he wouldn't stay put without trapping him, so unfortunately the holy fire was necessary." He actually looked like he regretted it.

Bobby glared for a few seconds more before Dean spoke again. "Doesn't look like there's anyone out there. We could probably make a run for it." He didn't sound like he wanted to admit it.

"Then GO," Bobby said, leaving the "idjit" implied. "Cas'll be okay. Just get yourselves clear while you can."

Dean sighed. "Ten-four. See you soon." The radio crackled into silence.

Bobby rubbed his forehead. "They gonna be okay to get out?"

Lucifer nodded before responding. "I had wanted a chance to talk to Sam, but my demons are under orders to not harm them. They will be fine."

"Good." The old hunter sighed, and briefly wondered if he had completely lost his mind. "Okay."

Lucifer tilted his head. "Okay?... _Oh._ Hold still then, please. My powers are somewhat diminished." He stepped forward, placed his hand on Bobby's forehead, and closed his eyes in concentration.

***

"Sorry to leave you waiting, little brother," Lucifer called to Cas as he walked into the otherwise abandoned room. He was mildly surprised to see Cas and Shannon sitting on the floor together. With a rather conspicuous lack of demon guards. He gave Shan a questioning look as he helped her up.

"I asked them to leave for a little bit," she explained, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I wanted a little privacy. Everything go okay?"

"Better than okay," he responded. He dipped her in a fit of joy that things were _finally_ going right and kissed her firmly.

She laughed as he righted her gently. "It was nice talking to you, Cas," she said as she left the room. "I'll let you guys have your brotherly bonding moment."

Lucifer focused on Castiel. His little brother had grown a considerable amount since he had been banned from Heaven. He felt a pang as he remembered all the fledglings that he had missed seeing mature. It was one of the few things he regretted about his fall.

"What do you want with me?" Castiel was obviously trying to be as fierce as he could manage. Lucifer's strength may have been diminished, but he was still an archangel, and he still could have crushed the little soldier, and they both knew it.

"Just to talk," Lucifer replied calmly. "I would appreciate your help in conveying my message to the Winchesters, since I won't be able to talk with them today after all."

Cas had clearly not yet mastered facial expressions, and Lucifer vaguely wondered if he ever would. Nevertheless, there was a plain aura of suspicion and mistrust coming from him. "What message?"

"That we are working toward a similar goal. Although I do believe they would like to either kill or re-imprison me, both of which I would prefer to avoid if possible. They don't want Michael and I to fight, and neither do I. Also Shannon has promised that she will never talk to me again if I destroy the human race," Lucifer added. He wished he hadn't upon seeing Castiel's confusion. How the angel had spent so much time around the Winchesters and not picked up on sarcasm yet was beyond him.

"You expect me to believe that?" Cas growled.

"I don't lie, brother," Lucifer reminded gently.

The only noise for several long minutes was the fire surrounding Castiel crackling softly. "Then what do you want?"

Lucifer smiled triumphantly. "To talk. Sway Michael to my side." He laughed mirthlessly. "If that's even possible." His voice rose in volume. "I won't kill my brother. I'm no longer trying to pass the tests of a father who can't even face his children. Not anymore. If Michael wants to kill me, fine. I'll let him. That's a risk I'm willing to take."

To his surprise, Castiel nodded slowly. "I believe you. I still think you are insane, but I believe you."

Lucifer grinned at him. "I'll take that as a compliment." He lowered his hand as the flames slowly died down. "Now, let's get you back to the boys. I'm sure your boyfriend is sufficiently worried by now."

Lucifer snapped his fingers and caught a brief glimpse of a very confused angel before he was alone in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, a few points for clarification on Luci's actual power levels:  
> 1\. I'll admit to not having watched all of Season 9, but my understanding is that an angel's grace is at least somewhat tied to their ability to enter heaven. No heaven, no recharges. (And that's what I'll be going with in this fic.)  
> 2\. Archangels are sort of separate from this, being practically small gods ability-wise.  
> 3\. My headcanon, (based upon various actions by Gabe, Michael, and Raphael in show,) is that archangels have an extended ability over the other angels that is not directly tied in with their grace. They were sort of just given the ability to govern (so to speak) their younger siblings, and so have a certain measure of control over them. You know, Michael kicking Uriel back into heaven, Gabriel trapping Cas in an alternate dimension thingy, etc.  
> 4\. Therefore, while Lucifer's GRACE has been diminished considerably by both his extended time out of heaven and the exertions of creating a new body for Shannon (it's been ten years, her original body decomposed), bringing Ruby back to life (lots of finagling with that since she's a demon that was inhabiting a brain dead body), etc, he would still have the ability to thoroughly kick Cas' butt if it really came down to it. (Also, he's an archangel so he had more grace to start with.)  
> And I know that Luci's rather out of character, but that comes with the fact that this is a completely different timeline. He's had a lot of human influence from Shannon (roughly 1200 years worth), so he does act more human than he did in-show.  
> Okay, I'll stop rambling now. Feel free to comment if you have any suggestions or criticisms!


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Adam's disappearance, the brothers break down and call for back-up.

"They got Adam."

Bobby was silent for a long time. "I think you boys need to get back here. We need to talk."

Sam and Dean shared a long look, then nodded. "Alright."

As they got in the car, both hunters had only one thought running through their minds: _What are we supposed to do to fix this?_

***

After brainstorming for several hours with Bobby, that question had yet to be answered. Bobby was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, still reveling in the joy of being mobile again. (He had, of course, received a severe lecture from Sam about letting Lucifer talk to him, much less touch him. Well, the beginning of a lecture, anyway. Bobby had cut him off after about two sentences and firmly reminded him that it was _his_ body, and until Sam had been faced with such a decision after nearly half a year of living in a wheelchair, he wasn't allowed to comment. Sam had dropped the subject.)

"Have you been able to get through to Cas?" Sam asked Dean after nearly five minutes of silence.

Dean glared at him. "Does it look like it?"

"Dude, I'm just trying to come up with some ideas here," Sam snapped back in frustration.

"I'm gonna get a beer," Dean growled in reply.

Sam glowered after him and shoved his hands into his pockets to stop himself from throwing something. And felt a small, crumpled piece of paper. Frowning, he pulled it out and flattened it as best as he could. He swallowed hard. Something told him the others were not going to like this idea. _Better to ask forgiveness than permission, right?_ He slipped out of the study and up the stairs to the only room he had ever called his own.

Sam grabbed his cell phone off the nightstand, checked that the door was locked, and wondered if the stress had finally made him lose his mind as he sat on the bed and stared at the small slip of paper. 'Shannon Walsh' was written in neat, clear handwriting above the number. Sam sighed, stared up at the ceiling for a long minute, and, when no answer came, flipped open his phone and dialed before he could think about it. It rang three times before a voice that was only barely familiar asked "Hello?"

"It's Sam."

There was a pause. "Wow.... I'll be honest, I had figured if you guys were going to call, you would have done it by now."

"Yeah well, things change."

"Okay.... Care to clarify what kind of things?"

"The angels have our brother."

"You guys have a brother?" Shannon blurted. "Hang on Sam, I'm gonna go get Lucifer for you. Just stay on the line, okay?"

Sam rubbed his eyes, ignoring the little voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Dean screaming at him that this was a bad idea.

"Sam?" Lucifer's voice was calm and smooth, as it always seemed to be.

"Yeah, I'm here." _Just chatting with Satan on a cell phone, wondering what my life has come to._

"I assume you were referring to Adam?"

"Yeah."

"I think it may be easier to have this conversation in person. I don't suppose Dean would be willing to not waste bullets on me for an hour or two?"

Sam was startled into a brief laugh. "Uhhhh... I'll go talk to them. I'll send you a text when the yelling's stopped." He hung up without waiting for a response. This was not going to be fun.

***

"No."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Dean, seriously? He already knows where we are. If he wanted to poof in, he would have done it already."

Dean opened his mouth to reply, probably that he didn't care, he didn't want to be anywhere near the Devil (and especially did not want him near Sam, either). Bobby didn't give him a chance.

"I don't see you boys having a whole lot of other options. This might be your only chance to save Adam."

Dean groaned. "Fine, fine. But we're taking a few precautions."

As luck would have it, when Lucifer arrived he landed right in the center of the holy oil circle Dean had insisted on laying down. Shannon happened to land (somewhat shakily) a few inches away. Which put her close enough to make her yelp and flinch in surprise when the flames went up. In contrast, Lucifer merely stared at the flames with something not quite interested enough to be classified as annoyance. "Is this really necessary?" He asked drily.

"Yes!" Dean snapped. "I find it very necessary to not have the Devil wandering around the living room!"

Said Devil rolled his eyes. "Bobby good to see you again," he said nodding his head. "Sam, same to you. Dean, lovely meeting you."

Dean glared at him, hand drifting to his gun. Sam grabbed his arm. "Dude, talking, remember? As in, not uselessly shooting?"

Shannon was clearly fighting to keep a smile off her face. "So... what exactly were you guys hoping we could do?"

Dean sighed in frustration and tilted his head Lucifer's direction. " _His_ dickhead brothers have _our_ non-dickhead brother. We need to get him back."

"Yeah, that really didn't answer my question, prettyboy."

Dean blinked and opened his mouth, then shut it again.

Lucifer cut in, probably not to save him. "What Shannon means is that, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm not exactly welcome among my brothers. There is a very high possibility that I would be killed on sight. Or that they would try to, at any rate."

"There's nobody you could talk to, try to get a feel for where Adam is, at least?"

Lucifer tilted his head, presumably thinking. "All of the angels that sided with me before my fall fell with me, so there goes just about everybody who would have been willing to talk with me...." He was silent for a minute more, and Sam had turned to Dean to try and think of something else, when he spoke again. "Though I suppose Gabriel may be willing to listen to me, if only for a brief while. And he is remarkably clever at getting into places he isn't meant to. Of course, that would require finding him, and we all lost track of him even before I fell." His smile was barely there, tinged with a millennia old ache.

Sam and Dean shared a look. "About that..." Sam began.

Suddenly, the flames were gone, and Lucifer was directly in front of the hunters. "You know where he is? Is he alright? _Where is he?_ " The men in the room clapped their hands over their ears as the windows rattled and Shannon ran over to the angel who was now in frantic-older-brother mode.

"Lucifer, honey, calm down. They can't tell you where he is if you turn their brains into oatmeal."

Lucifer slowly relaxed and took Shannon's hand, squeezing it gently. He kissed her knuckles lightly, and she rolled her eyes, muttering about him being a dork.

"We don't know where he is, exactly," Dean said, eagerly breaking up the moment before it became any more gooey.

Sam's head snapped up. "I have a pretty good idea of how we could find him, though." He turned and jogged up the stairs, leaving everyone else in suspense.

"Does it involve searching candy factories?" Dean bellowed up after him.

"Candy factories?" Lucifer questioned, looking at Bobby oddly.

The old hunter held up his hands in surrender. "Don't look at me, I haven't met the guy."

Sam shot Dean a look as he came back down, laptop booting up as he walked. "No, it involves looking for the strangest, most unlikely-to-occur-naturally incidents we can possibly find. And then seeing if they appeal to Dean's sense of humor."

"Ha ha," Dean responded plopping down into a chair. "This is going to take forever."

Lucifer nodded firmly. "What do I need to do to help?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, sorry, sorry sorry sorrysorrysorrySORRY this took so long! School siphons away time and creativity, and I hate it. Believe me, I would much rather be writing this for you guys instead of sitting in government. Sigh. Oh well. Next chapter shall have Gabriel (and Kali, my favoritest goddess ever) and will more than likely be longer than this. I don't want to make promises I can't keep, so no guarantees on when it'll be up.   
> Although... winter break starts in a few weeks, so we'll see. Hope you guys enjoyed! Constructive criticisms, compliments and comments of any sort are always cherished!


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Different version of "Hammer of the Gods". We finally see the entrance of everybody's favorite archangel (drum roll please) Gabriel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a horrible person and have no excuse for why it's been roughly a millenium since I updated this. I've really just left the fandom out of frustration with the show, but I really want to try and finish this, because I know some of you seem to like it. I'm so sorry this took so long, but I won't make any promises about updating because I'm not sure I can keep them. Hope you enjoy!  
> Also, this chapter was typed in google docs because my laptop doesn't have word yet, and I think it messed up the formatting when I copied and pasted. The spaces between paragraphs aren't there anymore, but I don't have the willpower to fix them all individually right now. As soon as I do, I promise I'll fix this so that this isn't such a pain to read. Sorry!

"Freaking monsoon," I muttered, trying to wring out my hair as inconspicuously as possible. Apparently running around the country looking for lost little brothers doesn't leave much time for normal things, like haircuts. I made an attempt to not look too much like a sullen teenager as I followed after Sam and Dean to the front desk of the hotel.  
"- port in a storm," the artificially cheerful guy behind the desk finished as I caught up. "If you could just fill this out, please."  
Dean frowned down at the sheet but dutifully started filling it out.  
I sent off a quick text to Lucifer, letting him know that we had so far managed to not die, that I loved him, and we'd probably be turning in soon. I glanced around the surprisingly full lobby as Dean gave a (probably fake) credit card to the guy to pay for a room.  
"Sir, I think you've got a shaving nick there," vaguely creepy guy said, gesturing to his neck and handing Dean a tissue. "Your keys."  
"Thanks," Dean said. Weird. It was a little late for a shaving nick. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a coffee shop, would you?"  
"All you can eat buffet," disturbing man continued. "Best pie in the tri-state area."  
Sam and I rolled our eyes in unison as Dean expressed his intense approval of this.  
Five minutes later, I was bringing a large salad back to the table, with another plate of food for Sam, who had apparently decided to starve himself. He didn't look up as the dish clattered in front of him. I sighed and dug in.  
"Sam, come on man, eat something," Dean said, sliding into the seat across from his morose brother. He glanced at my plate. "Seriously? All that stuff and you get a salad?"  
I stared at him. "We've been traveling together for almost a month now, and you still haven't figured out I'm a vegetarian? Really?"  
"We should hit the road," Sam broke in, probably just to make us shut up.  
"I know you guys are good drivers and all, but it's pretty bad out there," I pointed out between bites of salad practically covered in feta.  
"Exactly," Sam responded. "It's biblical! It's friggin' Noah's ark out there." He paused. "You wouldn't happen to know if it is actually biblical, would you?"  
"Yeah, let me get out my 'Five Signs a Storm is Purposefully Created by Angels' handbook so we can check."  
"Hey, it doesn't matter," Dean cut in as Sam opened his mouth. "You know why? Because you. Need. Sleep." He jabbed his fork at Sam with each word. "You are no good to me, or to Adam burnt out, okay?"  
Sam mumbled something that may have been a yes, and Dean nodded in satisfaction.  
"We've actually got the night off for once. Let's try and enjoy it."  
***  
Thirty minutes later, Dean was displaying his complete immaturity as he laughed at the couple next door. Granted, they were all over each other, but I didn't think that was so hilarious.  
Neither did Sam. "What are you, twelve?"  
"I'm young at heart."  
Sam rolled his eyes and turned to me. "I'll take the couch, if you want."  
I smiled at him and waved the offer away. "It's fine. I'm sure you're too giant to fit anyway."  
"Man, we're like Rockefellers!" Dean exclaimed as he stepped inside. I privately thought that was a mild exaggeration, but from what I had seen so far, I supposed this was a few steps up from the places they usually stayed.  
"Mmm, chocolates!" Dean looked hopefully at Sam.  
"Knock yourself out," Sam scoffed.  
I flipped a hand at him in assent, prepping a quick goodnight message to my understandably paranoid boyfriend. To be fair, Sam and Dean did manage to get themselves into a ludicrous amount of trouble. He had wanted Ruby to come along, but Dean wouldn't hear of it. Big shocker.  
Just as I was about to press send, what was presumably the bed in the room next door started thumping against the wall. Loudly. Dean's snickers were accompanied by a woman's moaning, followed by a crash loud enough to move the bricks and knock the flat screen off the wall. Then, nothing.  
Three way shared glances were hard to pull off, but we gave it our best shot.  
“Well, I know those two seemed pretty enthusiastic, but this seems a little ridiculous,” I commented, glancing around at the utterly destroyed room. Sam murmured in agreement as Dean bent down to the floor. When he straightened up, he was holding a lovely diamond ring. Not suspicious at all.  
Naturally creepy desk guy did nothing to help with those feelings. ‘Just checked out’ my butt. As the guys decided to split up and look for clues, I realized that now might be a good time to call for backup.  
“Right, so I’m gonna go summon Ruby,” I said casually as Dean started to walk away. Maybe he wouldn’t hear me and we wouldn’t have to have another argument. And maybe God would descend from the sky, apologize for being a deadbeat dad, and poof us all off to Jamaica for a nice long vacation.  
“No, no, absolutely not, no demons,” Dean said, storming back over.  
I stared at him in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? You have no idea what we’re dealing with, we’re all exhausted, and you don’t want even a little backup? You know, the kind that’s immune to bullets and claws and can throw people against walls just by looking at them?”  
“No.”  
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I’ll just search around their room, see if something significant pokes up out of the rubble.”  
Dean apparently decided to allow that, as he walked off without another word. Sam gave me the look, but Bates Jr chose that time to wander off, and he had to follow. I did go back to search the room, but since nothing popped up, I decided to use my wonderful spare time to try Ruby’s cell, which thankfully went through.  
“Hey, mind helping out for a bit? You might even get to stare at Sam’s butt some, if you’re really lucky.” The last bit was said with Ruby glaring at me, evidently having chosen to join in on the fun.  
“Do you deliberately make it difficult for me to keep you alive?” She asked in annoyance.  
I threw up my hands in exasperation. “It’s not my fault those two attract baddies like crazy!” Which didn’t take a genius to notice. Poor guys, it couldn’t have been fun growing up like that. No wonder I couldn’t get them to say anything about their past. What? Road trips are boring when your traveling companions won’t talk to you, okay? I had just been trying to break the ice.  
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. What’s going on that you needed help? Do you think you need to call in Lucifer, or I am just a precaution?”  
I shrugged. “We don’t really know yet. Sam and Dean are scouting around, and I, as a junior hunter, was sent to stare at the destruction until something happened. Speaking of, anything jump out at you?”  
She scanned the room, eyes widening as she stared past my shoulder. “Uhhhh…”  
I nodded in resignation. “Just how bad is the thing standing behind me?”  
Instead of answering, she lunged forward and laid a hand on my shoulder. Suddenly, we were in a suspiciously empty lobby rather than a disturbingly destroyed hotel room. Very bad, then.  
“We probably need to find the boys before they get themselves killed,” Ruby sighed. “Not that it ever seems to take, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”  
I agreed, and we set off to figure out what had managed to get the drop on Sam and Dean this time around.  
We wound up lurking outside a side door and trying not to breathe loudly as the gods -freaking gods- started up their lovely little meeting. Ruby’s help suddenly wasn’t seeming as protective as it had before. Certainly not as helpful as, say, an archangel. I was about to risk hoping the sound was off on my phone to revise my previous text to Luce- we were so very much not fine- when the doors burst open. I just managed to catch the syllable Sam got out before his voice went out. Gabe. Didn’t they say Gabriel was posing as a trickster? And Loki was definitely a trickster… Looks like we had that archangel protection after all. I still texted Luce though. We found him.  
***  
Just as Sam was about to start seriously panicking about how they were supposed to fight a conference room full of freaking gods, three things happened nearly simultaneously.  
One, Gabriel appeared on the couch and delivered some Dean-esque line about Winchester luck.  
Two, Shannon barged through the door behind Dean’s least favorite demon, because obviously this night wasn’t going poorly enough. Not that Sam hadn’t wanted a chance to actually talk to Ruby, but this definitely wasn’t the time.  
And three, Lucifer appeared right next to Sam, his face so full of hope that Sam found himself feeling sorry for the guy.  
There was shocked silence for a moment, right before the Devil lunged at his little brother. Sam was about to shout, when he realized that an archangel fight wasn’t about to destroy the hotel. No, Lucifer was hugging his brother just as fiercely as Sam remembered holding Dean after his return. So tightly, in fact, that it took a moment for Sam to realize that Gabriel was trying to say something. His face was apparently smashed against Lucifer’s chest.  
Realizing this as well, Lucifer reluctantly pulled back, looking at his brother expectantly.  
“What the hell is going on?”  
Shannon evidently decided to answer that question. “Lucifer doesn’t want to fight Michael, but he can’t get anyone to show up so that he can explain that. Raphael is blatantly ignoring him, Michael is likely to start the apocalypse first and ask questions later, all the younger angels are too scared, and you’ve been AWOL since forever. Oh, and Michael decided to snag Sam and Dean’s brother as a vessel. And Dean’s boyfriend is missing.”  
Dean sputtered angrily, presumably at the boyfriend comment.  
Gabriel stared at Shannon. “And who the hell are you?”  
“My girlfriend,” Lucifer said happily.  
Gabriel boggled some more. “Girlfriend? You’re dating a human? You?”  
“Yep,” came the cheerful reply. Clearly, Lucifer wasn’t over the high of finding his brother.  
Gabriel apparently decided that wasn’t a priority, and switched over to potentially world-ending matters. “You don’t wanna fight Michael.”  
“Nope.”  
“At all.”  
“Would you?”  
“...No.”  
“Do you believe me?”  
“Dude, you apparently have a girlfriend. I’d believe that you want to personally apologize to every human on earth and offer them a free puppy. Nothing is beyond the realm of possibility anymore.”  
Lucifer grinned before enveloping him in a hug again. “Missed you, little brother.”  
Gabriel groaned in annoyance, which was probably fake, given how hard he hugged back. “Yeah, yeah. You’re getting your feelings all over me. Cut it out.”  
Lucifer relented, and chose to ruffle his hair instead. “So you’ll help talk to them?”  
Gabriel swatted at his hand. “Sure, why not? I don’t have any better ways to keep the world from ending.”  
Dean recovered enough to indignantly say “Cas is not my boyfriend” in a truly venomous tone.  
Shannon gave him a pitying look. “Oh? So you normally share long, meaningful stares with your platonic best friends? Do they normally sacrifice all of their power and risk death because of you?”  
This cued more angry sputtering as Lucifer and Gabriel began to work out a plan for convincing the famously un-convincible Michael to not commit fratricide. Oh, yeah. This was going to go great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr is Claire3467 as well. Feel free to drop by my ask box and critique this, talk about your life, the show, or yell at me to work on this fic! Seriously, I won't hold it against you if you tell me to get my act together. I need it.


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